In the Dead of Cold (18 page)

“What would our child be like? Would it be born with fangs? Would it want blood or milk or baby cereal? Raw meat, live rats? What?”

He rolled his eyes. “I wish you’d stop thinking this is like some bad horror flick. Our child would be like any other newborn, needing the care and constant attention of its parents. It would thrive on breast milk or formula, whatever we choose to feed it, no different from a human baby.” It tore at his heart to talk about children with her. That was the greatest and biggest pipe dream he had. All vampires had. “But it doesn’t seem to happen that easily. I know couples who try for a child for decades. While tests show most male vampires are very fertile and we can recognize a woman’s ovulation almost up to the hour, it seldom happens. For me, a child would be the result of great love. I’d love to have one with you.”

“But would our child be a…”

“When the child of a vampire reaches a certain age, he goes through an initiation process.”

“Like entering a fraternity?”

Hell, she was trying his patience. “Not quite. It’s more like a rite of passage, determined by the parents and other elders as to whether or not the child is mature enough to handle his or her nature.” Milo paused as the waiter approached and refilled Jane’s teacup. He resumed talking after he left. “It could happen at the age of sixteen or twenty or thirty. Or it might never happen at all. But it’s a ceremony of sorts, and he’s—I’m using ‘he’ as an example, because it happens for both boys and girls—given his first taste of blood. After that, he recognizes his strengths and knows what he is.”

The waiter approached again and replaced his empty soup bowl with his entrée of filet mignon with a baked potato. The waiter then set Jane’s order of a grilled chicken breast with vegetables and rice pilaf down beside her partially eaten salad before he stepped away. Milo didn’t hesitate to dig in to his steak.

“So until then, he’s like a human? No one sees him as anything different?”

Milo chewed and swallowed before he answered. “That’s right. Otherwise, we would not have survived very long. But yes, everything about him would appear human. He would even go for regular checkups and get inoculations; then he would go to school with other kids. He would be thought of as a human.”

“Is he immortal?”

“Once he goes through the initiation process, yes, because he learns how to heal himself. It is believed, however, that he can be killed by easier, more conventional methods because he’s half-human. But I don’t know that for certain.”

“What if he’s not half-human? Does that make a difference?”

“Oh, yes. If you were a vampire and became pregnant by me, we’d have a lot more to worry about.” He felt better, now that she was talking and was calmer, but he wasn’t certain he was ready to talk with her about these things. Their relationship was new, and she was in danger. But if talking about impertinent things made her feel better, then fine.

“Like what?”

“Understand that I know of several half-human, half-vampires, but I only know of one vampire couple who had a child. I’ve been told the offspring of two vampires can be a monster, like a deformed child. It doesn’t live long.”

“What about the one you know?”

She still had barely eaten anything. “Take a bite,” he said. He took another bite of his filet mignon. She finally followed suit. “He’s normal for now. But as he grows, he could develop powerful, almost abnormal or inhuman abilities.” He met her gaze. “You think I’m fast? You think I can control your mind? We can only imagine what a child like that could do. That’s why it’s important his parents teach him the right things. And a vampire pregnancy…”

“What about it?”

She was keenly focused on him. He took another bite, and he was glad when she did too. “Pregnancy can weaken any woman, but a vampire pregnancy, whether half-human or not, can be very hard on the mother. Vampires require blood as you know. A growing human fetus can quickly deplete the mother of nutrients in her blood. And if there are any complications, modern medicine’s first priority is to help the human mother. Because of our unique capabilities to heal ourselves, human medicine doesn’t affect us. So if a vampire mother has problems, she could die, since human medicine would not do anything for her or the child. It can be a tricky situation.”

“It sounds scary.”

“It can be. It’s why vampires like to plan for pregnancies.”

“So what if a half-vampire child got a taste of blood through some other means before his initiation process, like through an accident or during a big pileup playing football with a bunch of kids in the backyard? What would happen?”

“Not much. He might desire blood, but he’s not going to go crazy, needing it like newly created vampires crave it. It’d probably be a lot like a young boy looking at pictures of naked girls. He sees a difference between boys and girls, but he doesn’t readily know or understand the whole idea behind sex until he’s older.”

She grinned at him. “It always comes back to sex with you, doesn’t it?”

He grinned back. “I
am
old enough to understand the concept.”

She grew serious again. “You know all this for certain about the vampire children?”

“Yes, I’ve been around for a long time. I’ve even been to a few initiation ceremonies. Again you’re thinking in Hollywood terms, like if we get a small taste of blood, we’re uncontrollable monsters.” That statement hit a little too close to home for Milo. He chose to push that idea and thought process aside as he gulped down some wine.

“Bart is.”

“Humans are no different—most are good and kind and decent. Every once in a while, there’s a serial killer among them,” he explained.

He took another bite, almost finished with his rare steak.

She took one too. “When two vampires have a baby, why might it turn out wrong?”

“What causes any birth defect?”

She shrugged. “I guess I wasn’t thinking about it that way. So—did you start out as the child of a vampire?” Then she chuckled. “I can’t believe I’m asking these questions.”

He smiled but didn’t answer until another couple moved around them and out of hearing distance. “No, I was turned.”

“Why?”

“Someone wanted to kill me and decided to turn me instead. If it wasn’t for Mr. M., I might have died anyway.”

“Why did someone want to kill you?”

For a long moment, it was he who stared at his plate. “I had a wife who loved me. He had a fiancé who quickly came to fear him. I had my father’s attention. He didn’t. I had a future. His was gambled away on an empty promise.”

“You’re saying someone wanted to kill you because he was jealous of you?”

“People have killed for less.”

“I know, but why?”

“You’re sure asking a lot of questions.”

“I’m sleeping beside you, and all I can seem to think about is fucking you with every breath I take. I not only have the right to a few questions and answers, but it also keeps my mind off sex.”

“Stop making it sound like we’re two dogs rutting. It’s much deeper than that, and you know it. What we have is a connection of body and soul; wouldn’t you agree?”

She met his gaze. The sunlight made her eyes shine.

“All right, yes, I admit to the connection. But I still have a right to know.” She sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I get this way sometimes after I finish a tour. It’s like a terrible case of jet lag. I have no idea what I want or need. And the strange thing about it is that I go from wanting to soak in your hot tub again to jogging through the snow. But one thing I do know is that the sound of your voice is…” Jane paused.

“Is what?”

“Nice,” she finished. “Perfect, actually. Very calming. I like listening to you. And your words give substance to all the parts of my jumbled memories. Sitting here, listening to you, makes me feel grounded. Better.”

“Good. How about after we eat, we hit the ice rink for a while? It might help wear off some of your energy, and we’ll save the hot tub for later.” He didn’t tell her the jittery feeling she felt had nothing to do with finishing her tour, but that his seed in her body had become like a drug to her. Like a first-time cocaine user, her body now wanted and needed him—and always would. Just like taking certain drugs, his seed filled her with energy, drive, and strength. Making love to her over a period of time could also turn her if other things were present, since sex was a sharing of blood in a way.

He wasn’t sure when to tell her about that possibility.

“That sounds like fun. But don’t you have work to do or something? I feel like I’m taking you away from your job.”

He reached across the table and held her hand; her heat rushed through his body. “At the moment, keeping you safe
is
my job. Mr. M. understands that, and so do all my other colleagues.”

“They don’t mind working special shifts to cover for you?”

“I’ve done the same for them.” Her gaze touched somewhere deep in his soul. “We’re a family here. We watch out for each other. Always.”

“But I’m not family.”

“You’re a part of me now, and they all know it. That makes you family. Any of my colleagues, in fact, anyone who would defend me or Mr. M., will now defend you.”

She stared at him. She blinked, once, then twice. “That’s…”

“Impossible?” he finished for her. “Impossible to have such loyalty?” He shook his head. “That’s the trouble with humans. Not only do most of you believe in the fairy tales shown in the movies, but you also don’t believe in what’s real, like loyalty. You don’t even think it exists.” He gave her hand a gentle pat. “But don’t worry. I’ll show you how strong it can be. Now, eat.” He shoveled in the last bite of his steak and made a big production out of chewing. He smiled.

She watched him. He could almost see questions churning in her mind behind her eyes. Still, her next question caused his heart to skip a beat.

“Will you make me like you?”

He chose his words carefully. “Only if it’s what you want.” He might have answered her slowly, but his heart raced in his chest. To be able to spend eternity with her at his side would be another dream come true. But the choice had to be hers. If he turned her without her asking for it, he would do so only to save her from something worse.

“So? You need blood, but you can still eat regular food?”

He couldn’t help but notice she didn’t linger on the idea of becoming a vampire very long. He let her lead the conversation. “My desire for food has remained constant. I enjoy it. I like it. I don’t need it like I need blood if I’m healing from something, but I have never stopped eating regular food. James loves cookies and milk. Zack loves green tea.” He took a drink of water, tired of talking about himself. He understood her questions, but he was beginning to feel as if he had a disease. “How did you become Miss Magic?”

She was quiet for a long moment as she took a bite of her meal and chewed. “When I was growing up, my older sister, Marie, was much prettier than I am. My mother and my grandmother doted on her. My mom would spend every morning before school making sure her hair was just so, and my grandmother was always finding clothes that would look perfect on her.” Her gaze took on a faraway look as she spoke. “Don’t get me wrong. I love her dearly. I always have, and I always will. But I understood from an early age that while she was beautiful Marie, I was plain Jane.”

Milo didn’t believe that, but he said nothing and let her talk. His voice might calm and ground her, but her voice reached inside him and touched his heart.

“So while I didn’t have the beauty, I did work on developing a niche. As long as I can remember, my dad was always doing tricks: making a quarter disappear, then reappear behind my ear; tearing a dollar bill, then unfolding it and having it appear whole again; making a scarf disappear into his hand. He even put on magic shows for birthday parties and things like that.”

“So you learned from him?”

She grinned. “I learned the presentation from him, but for the most part, I was better than he was. While the kids were ooohing and ahhhing over his latest trick and everyone else was looking at Marie, I was seeing how he did his tricks and practicing them so that I was faster, more proficient. I didn’t want anyone to see my sleight of hand or the slip of my wrist like I could sometimes see his. When people started watching me, it was for my magic. My brother, Tom, is my greatest fan.”

Milo noticed that, more than anything else, talking about her work put her at ease. “So how much do you use your psychic ability in your act?”

Her grin grew. “I’m afraid I can’t tell that. A magician never gives away her secrets. But I can tell you that it was during my developing act that I discovered my ability was there.”

“You discovered how to make things disappear.”

“I did. Perhaps I can make a few things disappear while I’m here. Can you make things disappear?”

He liked that the conversation had turned to a lighter topic and was no longer concentrated on his past. “No, but I can make something grow bigger by thinking about you or touching you,” Milo joked.

Jane took a big bite of her salad, stared into his eyes, and slowly chewed. To Milo, it was a very seductive action. He felt his cock growing in his jeans as he watched her.

“That sounds appealing.”

“Yes, it does,” he agreed. “And for the record—”

“What?”

“You may have thought you were plain Jane before, but you’re not now.”

His words brought color to her cheeks. He grinned, loving that he could make her blush.

A short time later, as the sun sank below the mountains, Jane held Milo’s hand while they skated. They were lost in the crowd, out in public, breathing the cool, crisp air. He hungered for her, but although she needed exercise, she didn’t need
that
type of exercise at the moment. Her hand was warm in his. She smiled easily. Out on the ice, for the first time since Bart’s name had fallen from her lips, she finally seemed free and at ease.

Milo wished the peaceful interlude could last forever. But he knew it wouldn’t.

Chapter Nine

Jane accepted the hot chocolate Ella Masterson offered her. “Thank you.”